Coffee consumption has been associated with reduced risk of type 2type 2 diabetes; cf. Merlotti C, Morabito A, Pontiroli A E.: Prevention of type 2 diabetes; a systematic review and meta-analysis of different intervention strategies; Diabetes, obesity and metabolism. 2014 Jan. 29; Ding M, Bhupathiraju S N, Chen M, van Dam R M, Hu F B.: Caffeinated and Decaffeinated Coffee Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and a Dose-Response Meta-analysis; Diabetes Care. 2014 February; 37(2):569-86. doi: 10.2337/dc13-1203; Higdon J V, Frei B.: Coffee and health: a review of recent human research; Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2006; 46(2):101-23. US 2009/0175973 proposes the use of coffee cherry and isolates thereof for treating diabetes.
Cafestol is a diterpenoid found in coffee, and diverse biological activities have been attributed to cafestol and related compounds. For example, coffee bean oil, which contains cafestol and kahweol, has been claimed to be useful as a sun filter (U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,990). An extract of essential oils of coffee has been used, in combination with numerous other components, including cocoa butter and antioxidants, in toilet soap compositions; the components are said to synergistically interact to provide a “monomolecular film” on the skin (SU 1770352). Further, cafestol itself, in combination with kahweol, has been suggested as having a protective effect against carcinogens in animals (Miller et al., Nutr. Cancer 15: 41-46, 1991; Huggett and Schilter, Colloq. Sci. Int. Cafe[C.R.] 16(1): 65-72, 1995). Cafestol and kahweol have also been linked to increasing serum lipid concentrations in individuals consuming significant quantities of unfiltered coffee (Urgert et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 61: 149-154, 1995).